Lisa Marie Rankin:

Hello. Hello, beautiful ones, and happy New Year. Happy January 1st, the beginning of 2025. I always find that there's excitement with the New Year. It's almost like an opportunity to begin again to consider what went well the previous year and maybe some things that we want to change. This is also a time that we start to think of our goals for the year ahead and also the new year's resolution, which is something that I wanna talk about today and potentially give you an alternative to do. 1st, I wanna wish you a very Merry Christmas if that's what you celebrate, a very happy holiday. I know the past couple of episodes have been focused on Yule rituals and then also embodying Christ consciousness.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

So today, we're going to continue with the seasonal theme, and I wanna talk about setting intentions. We are going to talk about a concept called a sankalpa. This is from the Eastern tradition, and it is less about what you want to get or give up and more about who you want to become. Let me start by giving you an example. For most of my life, from about 19 years old until about 40, 41, 42, I was a habitual drinker. Now I didn't drink excessively. I just drink almost every day. So it would be a vodka and soda or maybe a glass of wine.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

Now I didn't drink during my 2 pregnancies. And interestingly, I looked and felt amazing during that time, so that should have been a clue. But I always liked to have a drink when I got home from work, whether I was making dinner or getting ready to go out. It just put me at ease. Nevertheless, it always haunted me that I depended on having a drink when I would get home. But I would be able to talk myself out of it, be able to say, well, I'm still getting up really early to do my meditation, go to yoga, I'm holding down my full time job, I'm still a good mom, how bad can it be? And truthfully, it really wasn't. It was just a drink or 2. But yet there was something in me where it really haunted me, that it was something that I really needed, really looked forward to every single day.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

So New Year's would roll around, and I would often drink on the weekends, or I'm only going to drink when I go out, whatever it may be. And, remember, New Year's often comes after a time of a lot of festivities and a lot of partying. So I didn't really feel great at this time, so I had a lot of motivation behind this New Year's resolution. So it's likely I probably had been drinking too much and felt a little bloated and tired. My skin might be puffy, a little bit of red. So I really wanted to stop drinking. So that would be my New Year's resolution in one format or another. And maybe it would last a week, probably not 2 weeks, and I would just go back into my habit of having a drink when I got home from work.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

Now 1 year, I decided that I having a drink when I got home from work. Now 1 year, I decided that I would try something different. Instead of having that same old New Year's resolution, I was going to craft a sankalpa. And as I mentioned, a sankalpa is not about what trying to stop or what you're trying to get. It's about who you want to become. It's a short statement of intent. And mine was, I am healthy, radiant, and connected to my highest self. So that sankalpa had nothing to do with drinking, but it acted as my guide.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

So it's something that I could look at my actions and compare it against. Were my actions going to help me feel healthy, radiant, and connected to my highest self? Well, drinking every day was not going to do that, so that started to fall by the wayside. And other things did as well, for example, binging on Netflix. I think I was watching sons of anarchy at that time or maybe gossiping. Those conversations that you would have with coworkers. This is back when I was in the corporate world that always kind of left you feeling you just binged an evening watching the Kardashians or something. So these other behaviors started to fall as well too because the sankalpa goes deeper about the things that we think that we want and it's really about guiding us to the woman that we are meant to become. And you might notice that for New Year's resolutions, many of us often have the same ones.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

It could be, I wanna stop drinking. I wanna lose weight. I wanna make more money. I wanna get a partner. I wanna leave a partner, whatever it may be, but it's not necessarily unique to you. A sankalpa really goes deeper. It's about what your heart really wants, like what it is that you need to evolve and who it is that you want to become. But gets to the big why.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

Now you can still have the other things, whether it's to stop drinking or to make more money, get a new partner, but it's actually the byproduct of becoming the next best version of you, of evolving. So yes, you can still have those physical manifestations but those aren't what's motivating. The really motivating inspiring part thinking about how how am I going to show up next? Who is it that I need to become? How do I need to evolve to get what it is that I say that I want? It goes a lot deeper because often we find ourselves chasing things that we don't necessarily want. They're the things that society tells us we should want. You might have heard of the term in the past called mimetic desires and that's a concept that talks about desires not even being our own, that we actually desire things based on maybe what our neighbors have or what it is that we think that we should desire. But a sankalpa goes really deep. It goes to your unique soul's purpose, your unique intention. And it might be something that you haven't even uncovered yet.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

So I wanna talk today about how to create a syncopa. Now first, what even is it? It's a short positive statement of intent. It could be something that you want to heal, achieve, create, or transform. I like to think of it though as how you want to evolve. It's who you want to be. It's how you're gonna get closer to that next best version of you or your highest self. And that's the part of you that wants to see you reach your full potential and really share your gifts with the world. And once you craft your sankalpa, you can really use it as a guide for decisions that you need to make, maybe behaviors you're looking to modify or replace, but it becomes your North Star.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

And it's not just about one thing, about going to the gym or making more money, but it's really about how you're gonna show up in the world. So let's talk about how you create a syncalpar. 1st, I want you to start to get really clear about what it is that you want. And you might not be able to get straight to your heart's desire at first, so think about the more tangible things that you want, whether it is more money or whether it is to lose weight or have a healthier body, but then go deeper. Why do you want more money? Maybe it's so you can travel the world so you can feel more at ease. Maybe it's so your children can go to college without any loan. But go deeper. Continue to ask yourself why.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

Why is it that you want it? And then once you get to that core or that kernel, that's gonna give you a sense of what your heart really wants. So maybe it's, I really want to be a mom that is present and generous with my children. And as you can see, that would be a bit more inspiring than just I need to save more money. So really getting to the core of what it is that your soul wants. And then what is the feeling you think you're gonna get once you have achieved that? Often, we think that we want a tangible manifestation of something. I keep using the same examples, but whether it's to lose weight or to make more money or to get a partner, maybe to get a promotion. And, again, you can still have all of those, but what you're really seeking is a feeling. It could be a feeling of being loved.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

It could be a feeling of being appreciated. I remember at my corporate job, I wanted to get promoted, not necessarily because I wanted the promotion, but I wanted people to regard me highly. I wanted to be able to appear that I was successful and smart. I wanted acceptance. So get really honest with yourself about why you want it and what you think that feeling is once you have it because it's really the feeling that you're going after. And then consider who will you need to become to get what it is that you desire. So really three inquiries. Why do I want that? Why is this important to me? What would getting it feel like? What is the feeling that you desire? And 3rd, who will you need to become to get what you desire? Here's the thing.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

You will need to become someone different or I like to say that next best version of you to get what you want or else you already would have had it. So that's really the juice of when we start to have this intention of the heart. We can think of it as a guide or road map. It's a north star to connecting with our soul's purpose with our highest self. Now here are some practical tips for creating a sankalpa. You're gonna wanna start the statement with an I because it is about you. Write it in the present tense. So instead of writing, I will make money doing work I love, I make money doing work I love.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

So we want the declaration to be in the present tense because that's gonna signal to the brain that we've already achieved our goals. We're already stepping in to this new way of being. Be realistic. We don't wanna craft something that's 20 years out into the future. Ideally, synculpa is going to be achievable within 6 to 18 months. And, also, make sure that it's measurable, that now it doesn't necessarily need to be quantitative, but that you will know you had achieved it. So make it clear enough that you're gonna know once you've achieved it. Use language that is comfortable to you.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

So almost as if you were telling a good friend about it. So it doesn't have to be using these jargony words or big words, but as if you were having a conversation. Now you can also use that feeling component to describe how you're going to fail. So for example, you could write something like, I feel creative and inspired. I make money doing work that lights me up. So it has that feeling sense of what it is that you want. Now I have a little gift for you that I will share at the end. It's going to be a workbook that's going to help you craft your sankalpa step by step, which will also share some examples.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

And once you have your sankalpa, once you write it down, really reflect on it. Spend some time, maybe put it on post it notes, put it on your computer, on your fridge, on your mirror, and remind yourself of it frequently. Let your sankalpa be a guide to guide your thoughts, your words, and your actions. And notice as you start to titrate into this new way of being. And there is power when we share our intentions or in this case, our sankalpa. So more than even just saying it to yourself, share it with friends, with your family, with this community. Really reflect on it and let it out there so there's some accountability as well. Remember, when you become better, well, when we all become better, the world becomes better as well.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

Once we start aligning with our heart's true desires, you're gonna start to notice that there's more synchronicities. There's more serendipitous events. Doors start to open that were previously closed, and you're gonna start to feel more aligned. There's gonna be more purpose and also more joy as well. Here's my sankalpa for this year. I am present and generous with those around me. I live in integrity with what I teach and feel confident in the path ahead. So what's your sankalpa? You can send me an email.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

I would love to hear it or maybe post it on Instagram, and you can tag me. That's lisamarie.ranken on Instagram. And I'm looking forward to seeing them and supporting you in the year ahead. Now I have 2 new year bonuses for you that I'm very excited about. 1 is the craft your syncalpa workbook. I will guide you step by step on how to craft a syncalpa, and you can find that at programs.lisamarirankin.comforward/sankalpa, and that link is in the show notes. I also have another gift for you as well. You can get a ticket to my workshop, which will be in just a couple of weeks called the enchanted year workshop, and this will be an opportunity to share your sankalpa, get coached on your sankalpa, or get help writing it.

Lisa Marie Rankin:

And we'll also do a 12 month goddess spread so we can see what's in store for the year ahead. This will be a really great opportunity to align your attentions to 2025 and also get inspired with some goddess wisdom. Now to get a ticket, all you need to do is to rate and review this podcast on Spotify or Apple. Take a screenshot, send it to me, and I will send you a ticket to the Enchanted Year workshop. And that's it, beautiful ones. Happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing your sankalpas and seeing what's in store for the year ahead. Be well, loves.